Sital Ruparelia

Need some career advice?

If so, I’ll be appearing on BBC Radio this afternoon for my regular career advice slot.

From 2-3pm this afternoon, I’ll be on the Nihal Show on BBC Asian Network for Nihal’s regular ‘Guru’ expert slot. Today’s expert slot is all about careers and I’ll be taking live calls to answer any questions about managing careers, job searching or any other work or career related matters.

You can listen in live via the BBC website from 2pm (UK time) or on Sky channel 0119. Or else catch up on BBC iPlayer any time over the next 7 days.

Click here for the details

If your’re looking for some last minute gift ideas, take a look at the video and audio programmes below to provide a new year boost for job seekers and career changers you may know

All are currently available at a 35% discounted pre-launch price

35% OFF ALL VIDEO AND AUDIO PROGRAMMES

Click here to read the rest…

Are you confused about the plethora of social media platforms?

Are you unsure about what you should (or shouldn’t) be doing in the online world of blogs, forums, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook etc..?

Wandering how you can effect your career by the click of a mouse?

Question what you need to know and what you don’t?

Ok, here is everything you need to know in 20 seconds:

Click here to read the rest…

Most people think December and August are the ‘worst times of the year’ to job search or advance your career. After all, people are away, there is less going on and so from a career perspective, they’re seen as ‘lost months.’
 
I disagree.
 
When I was a recruiter, I’d always try and spend the December and August period to my advantage by investing the additional time I had – and the free time my clients had – to ensure that I was ready to start September and January strongly. Interestingly, the better I used that ‘down time’, the more successful I was in the months ahead.
 
And that’s what you too should be doing over the next few weeks. It’s a horrible, over used cliche – but using the summer weeks to your advantage really does help you “hit the ground running” come September:
 
Here are 6 suggestions:

Click here to read the rest…

Guest article from Mitul Kotecha

The last time I wrote for 6 Figure Career Management in April, the title of my article was Light at the End of the Tunnel.

In it I described how I believed that whilst we should brace for the reality of the tough times that lie ahead, eventually there would be some good news amidst all the doom and gloom.

I concluded with the comment, “Although it may be difficult to see it now there is light at the end of the tunnel and positioning yourself ahead of recovery will be crucial to ensure that you can grasp the opportunities that will likely emerge once you find the light. It is not too late to position for these opportunities especially as now more than at any time since the crisis began there are plenty of signs of recovery or green shoots. The main question is whether these shoots are allowed to blossom or left to wither.”

At the end of last year it looked distinctly like the global financial system was on the verge of meltdown, and that the global economy was about to implode. The change in market sentiment since has been dramatic. Click here to read the rest…

Many people find themselves on a journey to find that one job or that one elusive career that they are just ‘meant’ to do. They know it’s ‘out there’ somewhere as they continue their quest for a meaningful career.

But in a modern economy characterised by technology, globalisation and continuous restructuring and change – the job you were ‘meant’ to do may well dissappear from your industry, town or your country. What then..?

That’s when the notion of finding that one job/career you were ‘meant’ to do comes into question. And why I don’t really think there really is one single job we’re ‘meant’ to do. Even if there were, the modern reality is that it’s unwise to pin your career on the one job anyway – as it may well dissappear.

Instead, I think that we’re all equipped with a specific set of talents and unique abilities that, once discovered, allow us to apply them in any number of roles and vocations. It’s the application of those talents in the service of something that is bigger than ourselves that creates meaning.

The key to finding meaning (in my opinion), is to discover those natural talents and then find people, organisations or a cause that can benefit from those talents - rather than a specific ‘ideal job’. When you do that, you stop the search for the ‘one perfect job’ and instead create a career filled with a string of meaningful roles. 

BUT, it’s worthwhile mentioning that ‘meaning’ doesn’t necessarily have to come from your work – it can come from elsewhere – your homelife, your family, your community, your religion, your hobbies, interests etc. If that’s the case, you may need to restructure your work life to give you the time, money and resources to achieve meaning elsewhere.

For further thoughts on finding work that your ‘meant’ to do, take a look at this article on the Career Hub blog by Jean Cummings which inspired me to write this post.

See Related Posts:

How To Get Your Career On Track with the 20-10 Test

Penelope Trunk, Meaningful Careers and Improvisation

Job Satisfaction: Stop Following The Money

Do you often find yourself doing ‘busy work’ that doesn’t really interest you? Work that isn’t exciting, challenging or indeed satisfying?

If you answered ‘yes’ to these questions, you’ll enjoy the following interview with Michael Bungay Stanier, the founder and director of Box Of Crayons. Box of Crayons is a company that works with organisations and teams around the world to help them do less Good Work and more Great Work.

They’ve worked across a range of sectors including Consumer Goods (Campbell’s, Mars, Nestle), Pharmaceuticals (AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Pfizer), and Professional Service Firms (Gartner Inc, PricewaterhouseCoopers).

Michael has this week released he’s new book, ‘Find Your Great Work’ and recently took some time out to speak with me about how all of us can spend more time doing Great Work and less time doing Good Work.
 
Sital: Michael, many of our readers won’t be familiar with you – can you just give us a quick overview of who you are and what you do?

Click here to read the rest…

Special Offer For Blog Readers

50% off at Mint Leaf Lounge in London

The Venue
Mint Leaf Lounge & Restaurant
12 Angel Court, Lothbury, Bank
London. EC2R 7HB
020 7600 0992
www.mintleaflounge.com

The Offer
50% off food from a reduced a la carte menu
(Includes Vat, excludes service. Please note that the Lounge is closed on Saturday and Sunday.)

Available
Lunch: Monday to Friday 12:00pm to 2:30pm,
Dinner: Monday to Wednesday & Friday 5:30pm to 11:00pm, Thursday 5:30pm to 7:00pm

The offer is valid until April 21st 2009
Just quote: “6 Figure Career Management 50% Offer” when booking

Just to clarify
There are no fees or kick backs for me if you do choose to dine at the Mint Leaf Lounge. I just think it’s a great venue in the heart of the City of London, serving very good Indian food – so thought I’d share it with you.

If you have any questions relating to the offer please liaise directly with the restaurant on the above number

www.mintleaflounge.com

 Do you fancy making a change..?
 
If so, you may want to come along to the One Life Live show next month in London. Taking place at Olympia, London from 13 – 15 March 2009, the event is designed for anyone who longs to pursue a new professional or personal goal. One Life Live provides both the inspiration to make a change, along with very real solutions to ensure you can achieve your ambitions.
 
The event will see over 300 exhibitors come together in eight zones – each offering inspiration and guidance for those looking to make a change to their lives; ‘Become Self Employed’, ‘New Careers and Learning’, ‘Travel & Career Breaks’, Time Off’, ‘Volunteering and Fundraising’, ‘Life Change’, ‘Health and Wellbeing’ and ‘Green & Sustainable Living’. The show also plays host to over 100 seminars, a range of clinics offering one-to-one career coaching and inspirational speakers.
 
I’ll be running some of the ‘career clinics’ on the afternoon’s of Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th – so if you’re looking for some one-to-one career advice, please come along to Olympia. For further details, follow this link: www.onelifelive.co.uk

Over the summer, I wrote about the job loss league compiled by the Here In The City site. They have recently updated the table  - below are the 10 banking groups who have laid off the most staff as measured by % to total work force:

Bear Stearns – 7,500 job losses, 14,000 financial markets jobs, 53.5% of the total

Lehman Brothers – 14,500, 30,000, 48.3%

Wachovia – 1,400, 3,900, 35.8% (Wachovia’s new owners, Wells Fargo, is thought unlikely to want to have to deal with an investment banking business in the current environment. The smart money thinks that the unit will either be sold of pared back)

CitiBank - 7,900, 30,000, 26.3%

UBS – 5,800, 22,300, 26%

Royal Bank of Scotland / ABN AMRO – 7,000, 28,000, 25% (The recent ‘part nationalization’ of RBS is thought likely to result in significant additional headcount reductions at the Global Markets & Banking Division).

WestLB – 1,530, 6,120, 25%

Fortis / ABN AMRO Asset Management – 490, 2000, 24.5%

Perry Capital – 20, 100, 20%

Ramius LLC – 40, 200, 20%

To see the full league table, click here